Shaheen proposes $5.5 billion to repair ailing bridges

Wednesday

Jul 2, 2014 at 1:19 PMJul 2, 2014 at 1:49 PM

Kyle Stucker

HAMPTON — Local and state officials joined U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen in Hampton Wednesday to call for support for a bill they believe will help New Hampshire and the country better address a growing safety issue.

Shaheen's Strengthen and Fortify Existing (SAFE) Bridges Act looks to add $5.5 billion dollars to the country's coffers for bridge repair in the hopes that it will help states better address, repair and replace critical bridges with known structural issues.

One such bridge is the Neil R. Underwood Memorial Bridge, which served as the backdrop for Wednesday's rally for the federal funding. The 1949 Hampton Harbor drawbridge connects Seabrook and Hampton along Route 1A and serves as a main access point to Hampton Beach, although it also ranks No. 9 out of 147 bridges on the state's “red list” due to poor and outdated conditions that haven't been fully addressed for years due to funding issues.

“We're not really making any headway on (reducing the number of red-listed brides), and more resources are needed,” said David Walker, the Rockingham Planning Commission's transportation program manager. “We believe strongly that the amount of money being directed toward the transportation infrastructure in this country is inadequate and it needs to be addressed by federal and state policymakers. We're using last century's resources to address today's problems.”

Walker was one of several area officials who said in Hampton Wednesday that he was “pleased” about the SAFE Bridges Act, which according to Shaheen would add $2.75 billion dollars to federal bridge funds in both fiscal year 2014 and 2015.

Shaheen said the $5.5 billion represents an increase of 50 percent over currently existing funds.

Fifteen percent of New Hampshire's 2,429 bridges are considered structurally deficient, and more than 18 percent are considered functionally obsolete, according to Shaheen.

New Hampshire would receive $30 million as part of Shaheen's bill. While Hampton Town Manager Fred Welch that's far from enough to solve all of the state's bridge issues, he said it's a good step for a country he believes is doing a better “going to war” than “protecting the people at home.”

“If they just (allocated) one day of what they spend on the war in Afghanistan, we could fix all of the bridges in the country,” said Welch, adding that the issue has nothing to do with political parties or ideologies.

The Neil R. Underwood Memorial Bridge was resurfaced in 2010, although its ranking on the state's red list continues to increase with each passing year. It was No. 19 in 2013, although it was changed to No. 9 after other bridges were repaired and additional bridge evaluations were made this year.

Welch and Fire Chief Chris Silver said studies have indicated the two-lane bridge — which sees an average of 18,000 vehicles a day during the summer season and serves as a primary emergency egress route — needs to be fully replaced by either a new four-lane bridge or a tunnel. Welch said the tunnel may be the better option because it would last for a “200 or 300 years.”

The bridge also poses a number of safety issues, as four individuals have been killed on the bridge over the past decade. Two bridge operators, including one in 2012, have been struck and killed by vehicles, while two bicyclists were killed after they were struck by an allegedly impaired unlicensed driver in September 2013.

Estimates for a new bridge or tunnel haven't been completed, and the state is progressing with a plan to rehabilitate the bridge — but not replace it — in 2018. Bill Cass, the state Department of Transportation's director of project development, said the rehabilitation project has an estimated price tag of $6.09 million.

Shaheen said it's “not a good thing” the red list rankings for the Neil R. Underwood Memorial Bridge and dozens of other bridges in the area are increasing, although she said hopes her bill can bring attention to the national issue and increase safety in the Granite State.

“Given the challenges we face both in New Hampshire and across the country with structurally deficient bridges, we need to make sure we do everything possible to provide the funding that's needed to do that bridge repair,” said Shaheen.

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